Chapter 338: 『The Faceless King』
Chapter 338: 『The Faceless King』
“The Management Bureau leadership is currently devising an infiltration plan right in front of me.”
Until just a moment ago, Yellow King had seemed incapable of any form of communication.
Now, he spoke, his gaze filled with a level of lucidity that made his previous state hard to believe.
It would be nice if he acted like this all the time, but when no one is around, he remains fixed in his form as the Faceless King, so there’s no helping it.
Meteor, his dedicated handler, technically lives here as well, but he’s often away on various assignments, so it can’t be helped.
Moreover, the reason Meteor is away this time is most likely my fault, so I really can’t complain.
“I know that already, so let’s skip the long talk. You know as well as I do that since I’ve come here and bickered with you, I’m not going to that meeting.”
Why is he acting like this when he usually pretends to know everything?
“Human opinions change through dialogue. We do not believe that persuasion is meaningless, even if it is impossible.”
Is that so?
Since Yellow King himself admitted that persuading me is impossible, the conversation is over.
“So, just tell me if it’s possible or not. You know as well as I do that I’m in a hurry.”
I was certain it would be possible, but I asked just in case.
“The transmission itself is possible. Even now, we can communicate with the version of myself stationed at the Geneva Branch.”
Then that’s that.
“Then send me. I’m mentally prepared, so hurry up.”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Yellow King, and I’d like to catch up, but right now, taking down the Public Enemy is the priority.
I pressed him urgently.
“There is one problem. While the connection holds, the situation inside will cause a stronger overload than usual during the transmission. I cannot guarantee your safety, Lee Ha-ram.”
Yellow King delivered this information with pure neutrality, devoid of any hint of worry.
It was as if he were saying, ‘Even if I tell you this, you’re going anyway, aren’t you?’
And so.
Even though it wasn’t a question he actually asked, I gave him the only possible answer.
“It doesn’t matter. Honestly, after facing the Heavenly Demon Sword God and the Saintess, what could possibly be worse?”
It would be hilarious if something bigger than that showed up.
I’ve already dealt with the two worst possible people; could things really get any worse?
My luck can’t be that bad.
“I see. Then, stand still where you are. I shall unfold the stage.”
As stoic as ever, Yellow King replied and began the transmission.
He said he would unfold the stage, but nothing grand happened.
I simply began to turn translucent.
And within me, certain sentences began to pour down.
A meaningless script that I, as an actor, had to follow.
A desire to obey it flooded my mind.
But for now, they were merely letters, not even full sentences, their meanings yet uninterpreted.
I steadied my heart and prepared for the sentences that would follow.
As I gritted my teeth, Yellow King spoke.
“I am sorry I cannot help you this time as well. From a perspective that observes all things, moments like these are merely sorrowful.”
Surprisingly, Yellow King spoke with emotion in his voice.
As if he were truly sorry.
He bowed his head as he spoke.
Though his expression didn’t change at all, I knew his words were sincere.
I understood.
He cannot interfere.
That is the essence of the Faceless King.
Yellow King can create a stage, but a stage is only a stage.
Yellow King often describes himself as living in the past.
His plays can perfectly manifest even the dead, barring a few issues.
There are problems with that immense power, but most of them can be managed somehow.
Since it isn’t a summoning like necromancy, he cannot control them.
However, they were originally Heroes. Even if summoned at random, most focus on defeating The Enemy before them.
If you look upon a deceased person with whom you have a connection, you become assimilated as an actor in The Play, and the change is permanent.
But even this can be mitigated; if one is clearly aware of the nature of Yellow King’s play, the negative effects of resonance can be greatly reduced.
These issues are still dangerous, but considering the utility of the ability, they fall within the range of 'handle with care.'
When you look at it this way, there shouldn't be a major problem with using the power, yet there is only one reason why Yellow King rarely steps onto the front lines.
Yellow King’s stage calls upon actors who exist in the past.
They cannot interfere with the present.
It’s ironic for me to say this, having just traded blows with that past and even getting injured.
But the actions the actors left in the present... did not affect the world in the slightest.
I looked toward Yellow King’s house, which I had just burst out of.
The Saintess had clearly smashed the walls and destroyed the ground.
But looking back now, the house stood perfectly intact, as if nothing had happened.
The cracks that had been etched into the shattered earth had all vanished.
That was the reality of it.
An actor is just an actor. What they do in a play remains in our memory because we observed it as both audience and actor.
But as time passes and we look back...
They cannot exert any influence on us.
After The Play ends, the dead come back to life, the ruined city is restored, and the defeated enemy is left confused as to why they are still alive.
Just as an assault occurs if an actor on stage swings a weapon at an audience member, small things—like simple paperwork or data entry, where the identity of the doer isn't even recognized—can affect reality.
But massive changes like those are restored over time.
And to the extent of the difference between the restored reality and the reality we remember due to The Play’s influence, those caught up in it become closer to being actors themselves.
That is the essence of the Faceless King.
Because everything from the past that Heroes have built up is his power.
He possesses a power more vast than anyone else.
He possesses a power more useful than anyone else.
But he is a being who can never step forward to change the present.
The Faceless King.
Yellow King cannot step into the light.
If we were considering him as a Mutant, an enemy of humanity, it wouldn't be a penalty at all; if he could sprout the seeds in everyone's hearts and turn them into actors, that would be his victory.
But as a Hero, as one who protects the world...
It is an ability where the demerits outweigh the merits.
Knowing this, I spoke.
“Don’t worry about it, just do your job well. We handle the combat, you maintain the Bureau. That’s enough, isn’t it? Everyone has something they’re good at.”
I let the words out.
I knew.
In truth, I knew what Yellow King was best at.
Though his record was erased, he was originally a Mutant discussed as an O-Rank.
His specialty was destroying the world.
Because of that, many argued for his elimination.
But in the end, we accepted him.
Because we realized that he and we were no different.
S-Ranks. Beings with the power to destroy the world.
The reason we, who possess such power, do not destroy the world...
Is simply because we do not wish to.
If so, how is Yellow King any different from us?
Of course, Yellow King’s power belongs to a more destructive and murky darkness.
But because we didn't just look at the danger of that power and nip it in the bud for the sake of a potential future...
Because those present at the time agreed to it...
Yellow King holds the position of a Hero.
Even if he never sees the light of day.
Thinking that, I allowed a bitter smile to form.
I realized my thoughts could apply to The Society as well.
If only the Management Bureau would show this much tolerance toward Mutants.
With that thought, I looked down at my hands, which were becoming transparent.
I’ll be gone soon.
At that moment.
The script being hammered into my head began to take on meaning.
‘The Play begins with the lead hanging themselves.’
Ah, damn it.
Of all things, it’s this one.
I gritted my teeth, suppressing the reckless suicidal impulse.
Surely there are more cheerful, less bloody plays than this.
‘The curtain shall rise with the first line of the hanging lead.’
Don't give me that crap.
‘The long, protruding tongue spews its despair, and the lead struggles to claw at the rope around their neck.’
Along with a massive suicidal urge.
I felt a pain in my neck.
The sensation of a non-existent rope tightening around my throat.
But I must not reach for it.
The moment my hand goes near my neck, I’ll tear out my own carotid artery without even knowing it.
‘On a stage decorated with blood, the lead gazes forever at the supporting actors. As one who stands in the heavens.’
Shut up.
I gritted my teeth against the script.
Just as my body became almost completely transparent, ready to be flung to another stage.
“We shall see each other again soon, Lee Ha-ram.”
Yellow King spoke as he watched me depart.
Unlike his usual self, who rarely expressed an opinion.
He stared straight at me.
His voice resonated calmly.
“What do you mean by that?”
Sensing something in his words, I squeezed out a question with all my strength.
“Originally, your visit to us was scheduled for a later time.”
Yellow King continued, his voice level as if reciting a script.
Yet, within it, there was a trace of a wish that I would listen.
“You would have led your disciples here, introduced them to Meteor, and then faced us—the distortions of the world—alone, leaving them outside my residence.”
As if it weren't a prediction, but a fixed future.
Yellow King recited it with utter composure.
“That was the future that was meant to follow. However, something has changed.”
the moment he finished speaking.
The countless gazes fixed upon me changed intensely.
From gazes that seemed to merely observe me like security cameras...
To something that pierced through my inner self like ice-cold awls.
“By recording thoughts, we who write the world, who live in the past, who do not exist in reality—we also write the future. As if writing a script.”
With those words, the owners of those countless gazes descended before me.
They were not mere actors, but beings fully merged with Yellow King.
When a play ends and their roles are finished, actors become people who can be anyone once they step off the stage.
An actor is, by nature, someone with their own face imitating another.
But what is an actor who has only their role within them, once they cast that role aside and step off the stage?
What remains is something indescribable.
The essence of Yellow King.
A Mutant wandering in search of their own existence is a distortion that devours others.
But among them, a tiny few.
Beings exist who do not go on a rampage.
Those who regain their senses and, despite knowing they are false, choose not to vanish but to remain for the sake of the world.
Because their mere existence is like a deadly poison that contaminates the world, planting seeds in others...
They discarded themselves as the price for remaining in the world.
By becoming the being known as Yellow King, who is both one and all.
They are the ones who allow Yellow King to remain a Hero, rather than just one who opens a stage.
A colony of former Heroes who do not stand on stage but influence the present.
One of them spoke.
“However, ink has been spilled on the script; it has been torn away. A common occurrence. The future is based on the past, but the past alone cannot know the future.”
The one and the many looked at me.
With eyes filled with affection, hostility, doubt, and certainty.
“But the grand framework does not change. Because we can do nothing, the next page of our paper-thin script was for you to come to me and ask a question.”
The voices continued.
Like a farewell.
“That was a question to which we could have returned an answer. However, it was a question that might have collapsed all order.”
“To that, we considered absorbing you.”
“To that, we considered understanding you.”
“To that, we considered telling a lie.”
“To that, we considered delivering the truth.”
They all spoke as if every word were the truth.
Like a chorus in an opera. In a single rhythm.
“However, the script of the future we wrote has been torn out entirely. By none other than your own hand.”
I didn't know what to say.
What on earth was Yellow King talking about?
“Therefore, I shall grant you a reprieve equal to the future that has passed.”
Yellow King looked at me.
“Whether the one who asks me the question is...”
“...Lee Ha-ram.”
“...Crimson★Hammer.”
“...Black Marauder.”
“...Or one who stands between others and themselves.”
With those final words.
I could no longer feel Yellow King.